image from pictage atlanta pug website
Last night I attended the monthly Atlanta PUG (Pictage User Group) in Downtown Atlanta! It was such a wonderful meeting! I have only attended one other PUG meeting and it too was amazing, that time they had Joe Buissink there, and he is incredible! This time we were blessed with the pressence of Mike Larson! He is an international wedding photographer but is from my home state of California! He even mentioned Bakersfield, i chuckled a bit, since thats where I was born and raised! I grew up in San Diego and OC but born in good ol’ bako! 
Anyway, he really had so much awesome knowledge to share! I rapidly took lots and lots of notes and now I’m going to try to relay some of those so you can share hopefully in the powerful nature of the words he spoke. I definitly am not a naturally born speaker, teacher or writer, so I know I won’t be able to deliver it at all like he did, but here it is!
He mentioned some books that were “Must Reads” they are:
Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazz
The Little Black Book of Connections by Jeffrey H. Gitomer
Creating Customer Evangelists How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force by Ben McConnell,
Winning with people by John Maxwell
Someone mentioned, “Those aren’t photography books, are they?”, he told us that in fact they were not, they were business books that all photographers could use to help them grow a solid foundation and background as a business first, then photographer second.. This seems to be something that keeps speaking to me, today I heard Dane Sanders in his “Ask Dane” repeat from yesterday when he was talking to Scarlett lillian. Scarlett was saying that “As much as you love photography, first and foremost, you are running a photography business, like 80% running a business and 20% photography”. This really hit home with me today again, like reafirming some of the things I’ve been hearing the past month! Dane Sanders always says “You are not your photography”, I don’t know when I first hear this but again I heard it at Imaging in Nashville, earlier in the month. Then again I heard it from some other photographers that are passing around that phrase within our peers. Its so true, but so hard to initially come to terms with… How can I still be as passionate and in love with my photography and yet only have it be 20% of my business and 80% business… Such a struggle I currently am going through. But I am so thankful that there are industry professionals that are out there to help guide the next generation of photographers and lead us down the right paths.
Some of my notes consisted of:
“Shoot for heart and loving it”
- Are we being genuine? Buying what we sell, is the studio full of the type of products we want the client’s home to be full of?
“Do excellent things and you’ll be excellent”
He talked about the importance of having a mission statement for your company, he talked about how we are sometimes too busy due to lack of discipline, and we just waste that precious commodity of time..
One thing he said that really hit home for me was, “What will be better? Being a rockstar for my kids, or for other people?” Well if I had to choose, I would obviously choose the children. Sometimes my priorities do tend to lean towards work then family which I compeletly know is incorrect. But I’d like to be sort of balanced where I’m just as much of a rockstar at home as I am in my work. Is that achievable? I think so…
He talked about setting new standards in your small market, not the large metropolis city you live nearest, in the small towns that you directly service near you. This really impacted me because at times I’ve thought about how I’d really like to solely focus on the Paulding/Cobb/Douglas Counties as my sole are of business. Those areas are large enough to have thousands of people, and lots of work. He was saying to offer things or yourself in a way no one else has, “Dream big or go no where”. Another thing said that I thought was neat was “100% of dreams you don’t write down , you won’t achieve” So where do YOU want to go?
It was emphasized to me yet again, style should be something created IN CAMERA not in photoshop or in lightroom. Yes we all have our favorite Boutwell actions, or kubota actions, presets, etc.. But the goal should be to NAIL the image in camera, that means wb, lighting, sharpness, DOF, composition, etc, and not have to “FIX IT IN PHOTOSHOP”…I’ll admit there was a time I use to think, “As long as I come close I can make it good in photoshop”… I don’t agree anymore. It is obvious if an image that is overcorrected, has been well overcorrected and “Photoshoped”.
One of my GOALS of 2010 is to do custom wb in camera, and to get as best of sharpness as possible in camera, so after action sharpening is so minute, its barely noticeable. I strive also to always shoot an image that is timeless, and to edit in a timeless, classic sort of way. I dont want people’s albums to be looked at in ten years and people say, “Wow that was in 2009 when they use to photoshop everything and take all the color away except the eyes, ewww” Thats what I’d say, heck thats what I think now!
Another thing M. Larson talked about was being the best, he constantly was saying to “Practice, Practice, Practice”. The first time you have to deal with a low light situation should not be on the day of a brides wedding!
I really am grateful to have gone to his mini workshop talk. I came away really motivated and inspired to change myself and my business for 2010.
(blurry I know..point and shoot like i said!:)
It blesses me to see your thoughts.
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by Katrina Wheeler
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